The invention concerns a sensor for a short range detection or parking assistance system for a vehicle, in particular an ultrasound sensor having a pot-shaped housing whose floor is configured as a vibration-capable membrane, wherein the housing has a layer on at least the outer side thereof. Sensors of this kind are known in the art in a plurality of different embodiments.
The sensors emit signals which can be reflected from objects in the vicinity of the motor vehicle and can then once more be received by the sensors. Information concerning objects in the vicinity of the vehicle can be extracted from the differences between the sent and received signals.
Conventional sensors are either anodized or coated by cathodic immersion painting (CIP). A black anodized coating has turned out to be advantageous if the sensors are to be installed in a vehicle having a black color. In the event that the sensors are to be painted with the color of the vehicle, the CIP coating has turned to be advantageous as an intermediate bonding agent for the corresponding paint. A CIP coating is, however, not resistant to the elements and therefore must be coated by a further paint. Installation of the sensor having a CIP coating in the non-painted state is therefore not possible. Moreover, coating of the sensor must not impair the mechanical vibration behavior of the membrane. Interference with the vibration behavior could lead to false results and therefore unusable measuring values.
It is therefore the underlying purpose of the present invention to introduce a sensor of the above mentioned kind having a suitable coating which does not impair the vibration properties of the membrane. Moreover, the coating should permit installation of the sensor without additional coatings or paintings: the coating should be resistant to weather conditions.